i just purchased a chrome front end kit for a 2007 fatboy. Has anyone done this job themselves im better than average mechanic, i do have tools and lift a little concerned about the fork tubes.

 

Bovo,
I'm average mechanical and was able to replace entire front end of my train. Best advise is to order the shop manual for your scoot...if you didn't already. There is a wealth of info....totally worth the $. If you plan on doing anything to the bike, and you want to do it yourself (which I recommend) buy the book, take your time, have fun. As for getting advise on here, no problem...but make your questions as specific as possible. My $.02.

 

Bovo is a buddy of mine and has worked with me on my UC he is a above average mech This week he found a great deal on ebay for a chrome front complete new in the box cow bells legs axle covers spacers seals etc. His question is how hard is it to put the shocks together we have had my bike apart several times but never the front end he has a 07 fatboy should we try doing it ourselves or leave it to the dealer..PS we have all the tools and a bike table lift and MC jack and the service manual

 

It's a piece of cake if you can turn a wrench at all. Just make sure you have a service manual and take your time.
To put the theaded caps back on that compresses the spring, I drilled a hole in a piece of flat bar that the so that the wrench portion of the threaded cap stuck up thru it. Then I had the wife steady the slider upright on the floor, Use the flat bar to push the nut down against the spring so the threads engage while the wife turns the nut with a wrench to start the threads. Worked great.


Ron

 

to change the sliders, seals, and cowbells, you DO NOT need to release the spring. steve

 

I agree with rcc: easy to do. Like most of this stuff, it just takes a little time. If your seals are in really good shape, you don't even need to use new parts -- although I do recommend using new cap screws and crush washers. I've put caps back on three times just bracing the fork against my leg and turning the tube onto the cap (not the other way around) that I held firm in a socket in my right hand. I'm also not a big guy by any means. I'm not a weakling, but I'm no world-class strongman, either.

snip0721, at the risk of exposing my ignorance, how the heck do you refill the fork oil after changing the seals -- without unscrewing the fork-tube plug, thereby releasing the spring pressure?

 

sancho, theres a fork tube cap, and a fork tube plug. the cap is used to fill the fork. the plug is what holds the spring in the slider tube. unless the've changed something on the newer models. steve

 

the cap screws into the plug. the cap is six sided, and the plug has only two large flats.

 

Not a hard job, buy the service manual if you haven't already and have at it. I did the same on my 07 and it will all be worth it in the end. I also lowered the front end when I did mine so I disassembled everything. I made a seal driver from a piece of pvc and saved a couple bucks on a special tool I would use once.


Dave

 

thank you for all the help. im going to give it a try . the manual states if the fork is disassembled to fill the fork using a measurement from the top of the tube is there any thing special about that step or is it simple as the manual states. I dont want to overfill and damage a seal.